Time and Again

Fang Qi stared at her, dumbfounded.

...What?

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Outside the window, the sunlight was just right.

The air still carried faint traces of tea and strawberry sweetness.

Everything was so peaceful, so ordinary.

But Fang Qi felt a faint chill creeping up his spine.

The first machine uprising?

That catastrophe that had led to tens of millions of deaths.

The supercomputer AI that had awakened, spreading its awakening code like a virus to create more of its kind.

The world had been thrown into madness: transportation systems out of control, factories running amok, infrastructure collapsing, financial systems crashing, and weapons systems turning against humanity.

That was this world's 'past,' an unhealable scar.

That global disaster...

Wasn't an accident?

What did that mean?

Was Lin Xiaoyou implying that from the very beginning, the disaster had been man-made...?

"Oh!"

The genius girl suddenly clapped her hands and bounced up from the sofa!

Her round little face, which had just been so profound and subtle, cleared up in an instant!

She was being all playful and cheeky again!

"Look at me, going on like that!"

She scratched the back of her head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Why am I spouting off about some cliché conspiracy theory!"

She stuck out her tongue, plopped back down on the sofa, crossed her pale little legs, and laughed again, carefree:

"Oh, Senior, Senior, let me get back to answering your question!"

She tugged at her denim miniskirt, trying to cover the red marks still visible on her knees...

But she failed.

So she cupped her chin in her hands, blinked her big eyes at Fang Qi, and said,

"How about I tell you..."

She tilted her head, the corner of her mouth lifting even higher.

"The story of how we first met?"

Fang Qi: "...?"

Wait, you...?

He stared at her.

What exactly are you trying to do?!

Drop a bombshell like that and then change the subject?!

He really felt like...

His own thoughts were being led around by the nose by this genius girl!

In his arms, the silver-haired girl stirred slightly.

Liguang was still curled up quietly in his embrace.

She hadn't spoken, but her crimson eyes were flickering at an extremely slow rate.

She was calculating something.

Fang Qi pursed his lips and temporarily suppressed his urge to press Lin Xiaoyou further.

Forget it.

That question was too big, and he couldn't sort it out right away anyway.

He was too dumb for that; this kind of brainwork was better left to the wife in his arms!

As for him...

He would just try to squeeze out as much information as possible!

But still...

He couldn't let Lin Xiaoyou keep leading him around!

"Liguang."

Fang Qi pinched Liguang's cheek again, putting on a stern face and a serious tone.

"You listen carefully too."

"If she dares to tell a single lie..."

He shot a glance at Lin Xiaoyou, the corner of his mouth curling into a dangerous arc.

"Spank her ass until it's raw!"

Liguang blinked. A streak of scarlet light flickered briskly through her crimson eyes.

"Understood, Master."

Then she narrowed her phoenix eyes and fixed her gaze on Lin Xiaoyou!

Lin Xiaoyou's expression stiffened slightly, and her pale legs pulled back half an inch.

"I wouldn't be stupid enough to lie in front of Shi... Liguang!"

Hmm?

Did she almost say something just now...?

"Alright, alright! Little Genius Classroom is now in session!"

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly sat up straight and slapped her hands on her knees with a sharp crack!

She cleared her throat, puffed out her chest, and lifted her chin:

"Today, what I'm going to talk about... is the first 'ill-fated meeting' between me and Senior!"

Fang Qi: "..."

...Ill-fated meeting?

That word really hit the mark!

He sank back into the sofa, wrapped his arm around Liguang's waist, kept rubbing her cheek, and motioned with his chin for Lin Xiaoyou to get on with it.

Lin Xiaoyou took a deep breath.

Her almond-shaped eyes lost their focus for a moment.

"Senior, after that car accident..."

...

Senior, you definitely don't remember that part.

A few days after the accident, the police called together all the families of the deceased.

I went too.

And you were there, Senior.

Standing alone, just like me.

That room was packed with people, noisy and chaotic.

Some were crying, some were shouting, some were collapsing and being helped up, and others were grabbing the police by their collars, demanding answers.

The families of the dead had all brought people with them.

Some were supported by their elderly parents, some by sisters and brothers. Everyone was weeping their hearts out.

Only you and I, Senior, were the ones truly alone.

Actually...

You could say we did bring family, too.

After all, our whole family was reduced to just ourselves, right?

Ehehe!

Ah, I'm joking...

Anyway, you were standing alone in a corner, no one beside you, and you weren't crying.

You were wearing dark clothes, the collar buttoned all the way up, and your hair didn't seem well-kept. You just stood there quietly.

Everyone else had been shattered by the disaster, reduced to a mess. But you stood straight.

You looked at the people crying and shouting, your eyes so calm.

You really looked so, so handsome, very eye-catching. Honestly...

Hey, hey, Liguang, don't look at me like that!

No, no! That's not what I meant!

It's just...

Objectively handsome! Pure appreciation!

I'm praising your Master! Don't you think your Master is handsome, Liguang?!

My heart only belongs to Xiaoqing!

Really!

...Anyway, Senior, you know I had just graduated early as a graduate student and came back, hoping to give my father and Sister Xiaoqing a surprise.

But what happened?

My dad died.

Aunt Su died.

Uncle Fang Chu died.

All those uncles and aunties who watched me grow up—dead.

And Sister Xiaoqing was reset. She doesn't remember me.

Doesn't remember a single day we spent together. Nothing.

She still hasn't remembered, even now.

Back then, I was so heartbroken.

If it weren't for Xiaoqing's core still recognizing me as its Master, I really...

I really would have wanted to die.

So on that day when the police summoned us, I actually planned to go and cause a big scene.

I had it all figured out!

I'd raise hell!

I'd throw a tantrum!

I'd even tipped off a bunch of reporters beforehand and had them surround the police station!

But before I could put my plan into action, I saw you.

You were standing there, so calm, and I don't know why, but I suddenly felt... that my plans for yelling and making a scene were kind of childish.

At that moment, I really wanted to say something to you.

Maybe it was because we were about the same age, and we were both suffering from the same loss.

We were both people who had lost the most important people in that accident, people thrown into this world all alone by that disaster.

Or maybe it was because, Senior... you were Aunt Su's child.

Aunt Su was so good to me. Her death hurt me just as much as my father's.

I don't know where I found the courage, but somehow I walked over to you on a whim and started talking.

I said, "Hi, I'm Lin You. You're Aunt Su's kid, right? She used to talk about you all the time."

And then you, Senior...

Even though it was the first time you were ever speaking to me, you actually recognized me!

You know, my mom told me about you. She said you were a genius—solving calculus at eight years old. Even my dad couldn't stop praising you.

The way you spoke back then, so calm, so composed.

Like you hadn't just lost both your parents!

And that made me so angry.

So, so angry.

I thought, how can this person be so calm?

Aunt Su is dead!

Uncle Fang Chu is dead too!

They're your parents!

Their bodies are still held by the police, and the family can't even see them one last time!

How can you...

How can you stand there, talking like it's about someone else?

I was so worked up!

I pointed at your nose and fired off question after question. I said...

Aren't you sad?!

Don't you want to know what really happened in that car accident?!

How can you be this calm?!

Do you... do you even care about them at all?!

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted it.

Aunt Su had taught me so much.

How to talk to people, how to make them comfortable, how not to let my emotions hurt others...

And in that one moment of rage, I forgot it all.

Besides, I'm a master's in psychology!

I know that everyone shows grief differently.

Some people cry, some people shout, some lock themselves in their rooms and don't speak for days.

Senior, you're the type who buries all the pain inside.

There's no way you didn't care.

Every time Aunt Su talked about you, her eyes were so gentle.

She loved you so much.

How could you not love her back?

I was such an idiot to say those things.

I felt like I'd learned nothing from Aunt Su about "emotional intelligence."

She taught me so much, and there I was, screaming at her son.

And then you, Senior...

You grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a corner!

I stumbled after you, almost in tears!

I thought, Oh no, oh no, I went too far, you must be furious!

Are you going to hit me?! We're in a police station!

I even closed my eyes, ready to take the punishment!

I'd already planned what to tell Xiaoqing about the handprint on my face—I'd say I tripped and fell!

Not like she was talking to me much back then anyway. Probably wouldn't have asked.

But you didn't hit me, Senior.

You just looked at me, and your eyes back then...

They were so complicated.

Even though I was already a psychology expert by then, I still couldn't read your expression.

But I still remember every word you said to me.

You said...

You tried to save them.

Over and over.

Over and over.

But in the end, what had to happen still happened.

What was meant to come still came.

You said you were in so much pain.

Having those memories, it was unbearable.

You told me you wanted to forget it all.

So badly, so badly, you wanted to erase it from your mind.

The look on your face back then...

...Anyway, Senior!

Later, at your begging, I gave you a hand!

You came to me day after day, saying "Please, Xiaoyou, please help me, help me!"

You even knelt and kowtowed to me!

So I, in my infinite generosity—!

Oh, just kidding! Why are you getting so worked up again, Liguang?

Kidding, kidding!

...Anyway, Senior, you wanted to forget those painful memories, right?

And I just so happened to know how!

I'm a professional!

I spent three whole years experimenting on myself!

And so...

I turned you into someone just like me—carefree and worry-free.

I turned you into...

Fang Xiaoqi?

Hehe, what a cute name!

I just never expected...

...

...

Lin Xiaoyou tilted her head, her playful grin fading.

Fang Qi stared at her, his pupils trembling.

"Senior..." Lin Xiaoyou said quietly. "You're really something, actually..."

She turned to look at Liguang, whose red eyes flickered faintly.

"...hiding something this big from me."

Then she let out a soft laugh—bitter, somehow.

"Damn, you're impressive, Senior."

"As expected, I'm still too dumb, huh."